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OUTLINES IN 
DICTIONARY 
STUDY 

ANNA L.RICE 


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OUTLINES IN 
DICTIONARY STUDY 

FOR 

Fourth, fifth, sixth, and 
seventh grades, 

BY 

ANNA L. RICE 

PRINCIPAL OF LINCOLN SCHOOL 
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 



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THE GREGG PUBLISHING COMPANY 

NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON SAN FRANCISCO 

LIVERPOOL 









COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY THE 
GREGG PUBLISHING COMPANY 

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©GI.A570470 



PREFACE 

These outlines have been prepared for the use of 
teachers in grades four to seven inclusive, and cover 
as much of the subject of dictionary study as can 
profitably be taught to pupils of these grades. It 
has been demonstrated that fourth-grade pupils can 
do the work here outlined not only with an intelligent 
understanding of the subject, but with keen enjoy- 
ment of it. In this grade, therefore, it seems wise to 
lay the necessary foundation for more advanced work, 
and begin the actual study of the dictionary. 

It has also been demonstrated that if this work be 
carried on as outlined through these four grades, 
pupils not only acquire ability to use the dictionary, 
but develop a strong inclination to use it. Thus the 
dictionary habit is formed early in the child's life, a 
habit which is of great value to him while he remains 
in school, and of even greater value to him when 
school days are over. 

The work as here outlined has been tested in 
actual practice for some years. It has been found 
to be perfectly possible to do what is outlined for 
each grade in the time designated, as soon as pupils 

3 



4 PREFACE 

of the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades are prepared to 
start on their own outHnes. More time will be re- 
quired the first year in these grades, as the work of 
the preceding grade or grades will have to be done 
also. But the older the children are the more rap- 
idly the ground can be covered. Teachers of these 
grades, using these outlines for the first time, are 
advised to follow their own outlines as far as possible, 
incorporating in the work outlined for them under 
each topic the work of the preceding grade or grades 
under the same topic; and making sure that no topic 
anywhere in the course is omitted. 

The teacher using any one of these outlines should 
make herself familiar with them all. It would be 
hardly possible to do the work of any grade well with- 
out having the whole plan clearly in mind. In 
studying these outlines teachers will observe that 
special emphasis is placed upon the following points : 

1. Importance of Ear Training 

In teaching the sounds of vowels, syllabication, 
accent, and pronunciation, the child's sense of hear- 
ing must be trained. Imperfect pronunciation is fre- 
quently due to imperfect auditory impressions. A 
child must first of all hear correctly. It is sometimes 
necessary to speak or whisper a word very distinctly 
into a child's ear three or four times — as you would a 



PREFACE 5 

note in music — in order to make him hear it right. 
When he gets the right sounds in his mind he will 
pronounce the word correctly. 

Indistinct hearing is often the cause of incorrect 
spelhng, also. When a child writes ''supprise" for 
the word ^^ surprise" you may be quite sure that he 
has always heard and pronounced the word as he 
spells it. 

2. Effective Method of Teaching Sounds 

If the vowel and consonant sounds to be taught 
are placed in words, and if the words needing drill 
are placed in sentences, the pronunciation of each 
will be more easily acquired and remembered. This 
method should be followed not only in the lower 
grades, but throughout the course. The pronuncia- 
tion of isolated sounds and of unrelated words is of 
little educational value to the young, although as a 
means of rapid review in pronouncing words previ- 
ously taught, and for practice in using the dictionary, 
drill in pronouncing lists or columns of words has its 
place. 

3. Intensive Study of the Dictionary 

Intensive study of the dictionary for a definite 
period of time each year has been found to give better 
results than are secured by giving infrequent lessons 
throughout the year, or even throughout a semester. 



6 PREFACE 

Interest and enthusiasm are easily aroused and 
maintained when work moves rapidly, but not when 
it lags. 

4. Daily Use of the Dictionary 

It is essential that the dictionary be used daily, if 
but for three or four minutes. During the period of 
intensive study it will of course be used to some ex- 
tent in each lesson. During the remainder of the 
year pupils should be required to make daily use of 
it in the composition and in the study periods. This 
they will do with far greater pleasure and profit 
because of the interest which intensive study has 
aroused. 

5. Constant Reviewing 

In each grade, the work of the preceding grade 
should be skillfully incorporated by the teacher in the 
new work outlined. This is especially important in 
a study of this kind, where the formation of habit — 
not the mere acquisition of knowledge — is our aim. 

It is not intended that a whole lesson period should 
be spent on any one of the topics outlined for the 
grade. The teacher who adopts quite a different 
plan, and works along two or three lines in each 
lesson (always, however, making some use of the 
dictionary before it ends), will give the more in- 
teresting, and therefore the more profitable, lesson. 



PREFACE 7 

Since everything pertaining to the dictionary and 
its use cannot be taught in the time given to this 
course, some forty-eight hours in all, teachers will 
have to guard against too many digressions. If, 
however, the work outlined for each grade is thor- 
oughly done, pupils completing the seventh grade 
will be able to use the dictionary and other books of 
reference with a considerable degree of ease and 
intelligence. 

For valuable suggestions and criticisms relative to 
this work, grateful acknowledgment is hereby made 
to Dr. Thomas M. Balliet, Dean of the School of 
Pedagogy, New York University. 

To the Teachers of Lincoln School, whose able 
cooperation made possible the testing of these out- 
lines at all points in actual class work, and whose 
professional interest in the development of the sub- 
ject has been both a help and an inspiration, the 
author hereby expresses her deep indebtedness. 

Anna L. Rice. 



GENERAL SUGGESTIONS 

1. Before completing the work of any grade 
teachers should take special pains to make sure that 
pupils know where to find in their dictionaries ma- 
terial which may not occur in the dictionary proper, 
such as abbreviations, signs used in writing and 
printing, geographical names, etc.. to which they may 
have occasion to refer in the work of that particular 
grade. 

2. Teachers should call the attention of their 
pupils to the illustrations which occur so frequently 
on the pages of both the small and the large dic- 
tionary, and should show them how the illustrations 
help to make clear the definitions. 

3. Attention should be called to words which 
may be spelled in either one of two ways, such as 
theater, traveler, and indorse, and pupils should 
know that the form given first is in all cases the 
preferred form. 

4. Pupils should also know that when two pro- 
nunciations of a word are recognized, preference is 

8 



GENERAL SUGGESTIONS 9 

given to the first. This form is the one which they 
should be taught to use, especially in such simple 
everyday words as either, neither, been, cement, 
depot, rather, and the like. 

5. With regard to the rules for spelling and 
syllabication included in these outlines, teachers are 
asked to keep in mind that it is the formulating of 
these rules, not the memorizing of them, that is 
important. The rules will have no educational 
value unless they are thought out by the children 
under the guidance of the teacher. 

6. It is of great importance that the correct pro- 
nunciation of words should be taught without allud- 
ing to ways in which these words are mispronounced. 
The sound pedagogical principle which deters us 
from placing before children ungrammatical expres- 
sions, or words which are incorrectly spelled, applies 
equally to pronunciation. Children should never be 
asked whether this or that pronunciation of a word 
is correct, but rather: ''What is the correct pro- 
nunciation of this word?'' 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

This booklet on teaching the use of the dictionary 
in elementary schools has been prepared by the 
author, who is the principal of one of the best ele- 
mentary schools in the city of Springfield, Massa- 
chusetts. It has not only been carefully thought out, 
but bears the marks at every point of having been 
subjected to the practical tests of the classroom. 
As a matter of fact, it has grown out of the actual 
instruction given in this subject in her own school 
for a series of years. It seems to me to be decidedly 
superior to any other outline of such work now in 
print, and teachers generally will find it a very prac- 
tical, helpful guide. 

Thomas M. Balliet 

School of Pedagogy, 
New York University, 
New York. 

June 28, 1919. 



10 



OUTLINES IN DICTIONARY 
STUDY 

GRADE FOUR 

Minimum time required, one and one-half hours a week 
for eight weeks. Total, twelve hours. 

Note: The sound symbols used in this book to indicate pronunciation are those 
of the New International Dictionary. 

The Alphabet 

1. Order of letters to be perfectly memorized by each 
pupil 

Fourth-grade children should learn to repeat the 
alphabet without hesitation or error, and to repeat it 
rapidly. Starting with any letter, they should be 
able to name one, two, or all of the letters following 
it without conscious effort. Most of this work 
should be individual. 

Before beginning this work teachers should write 
the alphabet on the blackboard, using the script 
form of the small letters, and writing them all on one 
line. A few strips of cardboard, on which the alpha- 
bet is written in the same way, should be provided 
for the use of pupils who for any reason may be 
unable to see the blackboard distinctly. 

11 



12 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

These copies should be kept before the children 
in all the alphabet drills, and also when teaching the 
use of the dictionary, as long as any members of the 
class have need of them. As a rule, the visual 
memory is stronger than the auditory memory, but 
neither should be trained to the exclusion of the 
other. Since pupils can be tested individually by 
having them look away from the blackboard, there 
is no good reason why the alphabet should not re- 
main on it throughout the year. Indeed, this plan 
is commended to all teachers of fourth grade. 

2. All script forms, both capitals and small letters, 
to he memorized also, so that they can he written without 
a copy 

As many penmanship lessons as are necessary 
should be devoted to practice in writing the alphabet. 
Observe what letters require most practice, and drill 
upon them. Q, X, and Z, both the capitals and the 
small letters, always require considerable practice, 
because they are so infrequently used in ordinary 
writing. These troublesome letters should be prac- 
ticed in words as well as by themselves. 

Vowels 

1. Memorize the vowels in alphabetical order: a, 
e, i, 0, u. (Make no mention of w or y.) 



GRADE FOUR 13 

2. Recall the long and the short sounds of each, 
using the diacritical marks. 

3. Teach, in words, the sounds represented by 
these symbols: a, e, 6, oo, do. 

Do not present these sounds as something new. 
Recall the child's knowledge of phonics. Lead him 
to see that the only new thing is the mark over the 
letter or letters. Drill on lists of words containing 
these sounds, and use the words in sentences. Use 
the diacritical marks in all this work, in order that 
the mark and the sound it represents may become 
strongly associated in the child's mind. 

Spend a few minutes daily for a week on one of 
these sound symbols before teaching the next. When 
all the symbols have been thus taught they should 
be reviewed as often as necessary. 

Consonants 

1. Recall the two sounds of c, of g, and of s. 

Explain respelling. Let pupils find in their dic- 
tionaries such words as cat, gem, and has, and dis- 
cover that the k sound of c, the j sound of g, and the 
z sound of s are all indicated by the respelling. Give 
them quite a number of short words in which these 
sounds occur; have them find the words in their 
dictionaries, observe the respelling, and pronounce 
them. 



14 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

2. Have pupils also find in their dictionaries 
simple words containing ph, wh, qu, and x, and ob- 
serve the respelling. They will find that ph equals 
/, wh equals hw, qu equals kw, and x equals ks 
or gz. (Review of phonics.) 

Let them find in their dictionaries a number of 
short words like phiaL phantom, phonic, phlox, 
seraph, wheat, whey, whistle, quake, quench, quinsy, 
extra, convex, exist, and axle, words containing no 
new vowel symbols, and pronounce them as indi- 
cated by the respelling. 

Note: At this stage of the work, children cannot be expected to 
find words in their dictionaries without some help from the teacher. 
Our object in finding these words being merely to illustrate sounds, 
teachers should save time by naming the page and column where 
each of the words will be found. 

Syllabication 

For the present a syllable may be called ^'one of 
the parts of a word.'' 

1. Teach pupils to recognize the number of 
syllables in the spoken word. Pronounce slowly and 
distinctly words of two, three, or four syllables, at 
first separating the syllables a little, but later pro- 
nouncing them in the usual manner, until they can 
readily determine the number of syllables in any 
ordinary word. Frequently pronounce a word of 
one syllable between the longer words. Explain 



GRADE FOUR 15 

that words of one syllable, however long, are never 
divided in writing. Illustrations: through, strength, 
drowned, brought, which, asked, laughed, stretched. 

Emphasize this point by placing one or two rather 
long monosyllables in the spelling lesson each da}^ for 
at least a week, calling attention daily to the reason 
why they cannot be divided in writing. 

2. The syllabication of written words should be 
taught daily in the spelling lesson. The words 
selected for this lesson should be separated into their 
syllables for presentation and study. In oral spell- 
ing, pupils should indicate the syllables by pausing 
between them. When finally written from dicta- 
tion, however, the words should always be written 
as wholes. If daily instruction in syllabication is 
given in the study and in the oral recitation of the 
spelling lesson, no special time need be spent here. 
The daily drill is by far the more effective. 

Teachers will often find it necessary to consult the 
dictionary in order to be certain as to the proper 
syllabication of words selected for the spelling lesson 
before placing them on the blackboard. In oral 
spelling insist upon correct syllabication by pupils. 

Accent 

The study of accent naturally follows the study of 
syllabication. Explain what is meant by accent. 



16 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

Train the child's ear to recognize the accented sylla- 
ble in the spoken word, and teach children to pro- 
nounce correctly written words in which the accent 
is marked. (One accent only in this grade.) Put 
lists of words on the blackboard and use spelling 
books. Fourth-grade children do not easily detect 
accent in spoken words and it is difficult for them to 
place it where it belongs when pronouncing written 
words. Therefore the teaching of accent in this 
grade should usually be limited to words of two 
syllables; but thorough work should be done with 
these. 

Note : For suggestions as to how the teaching of syllabication 
and accent may be combined, see Outline for Grade Five. 

The Hyphen 

Teach the uses of the hyphen: 

1. When a word is divided at the end of a line in 
writing 

Since the division of words of more than one 
syllable occurs in practice mainly at the ends of 
hues, this use of the hyphen is best taught by using 
the ends of lines as examples. Children will thus learn 
to associate the hyphen with its most frequent use. 

2. In compound words 

Teach the few compound words which fourth- 
grade children use in writing. No others. Possibly 



GRADE FOUR 17 

the only ones which need to be taught here are the 
words to-day, to-morrow, to-night, good-hy, and com- 
pound words expressing number, such as twenty-five. 

Note: The hyphen is properly used only in the two ways indi- 
cated above. It should never be used to separate the syllables of 
words assigned for the speUing lesson. 

Pronunciation 

Work for clear enunciation and a pleasing tone of 
voice. 

1. Drill frequently on common words often mis- 
pronounced, such as the following: often, again, 
against, nothing, forehead, mountain, hearth, bade, 
pillow, catch, eleven, fifth, which, loose, eighth, perhaps, 
drowned, height, almond, kept, column, attacked, apri- 
cot, doing, running, and other words ending in ing. 

Give special attention to words containing the 
long sound of u, such as new, avenue, and Tuesday. 

It is suggested that pupils study but one of these 
words a day, in order that their attention may be 
focused upon that word. Let them find it in their 
dictionaries, decide upon its correct pronunciation, 
and use it orally in sentences, pronouncing it dis- 
tinctly. As one by one the correct pronunciation 
of these and similar words is mastered by the class, 
the teacher might write them on the blackboard 
under some such heading as the following: ''Words 



18 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

We Can Pronounce. Try Us." Or, ^' We Specialize 
on These Words." 

Teachers should keep in notebooks lists of the 
common words most generally mispronounced by 
their pupils, to add to the list here given. 

2. Call attention to the key words. Have the 
children read and become familiar with them, the 
teacher supplying the correct pronunciation of words 
which contain sound symbols not yet taught. Un- 
consciously these symbols and the sounds they indi- 
cate will become associated in the child's mind. 
Much individual work needs to be done here, as 
children will be taught from now on to refer to the 
keyline whenever in doubt about the pronunciation 
of a word. This is simple ear training, and should 
be taught as the scale in music is taught. 

In order that children may understand the value 
of this work, give them a few short but unfamiliar 
words to find in their dictionaries, and show them 
how to get the pronunciation of each syllable by re- 
ferring to the respelling and to the key words. En- 
courage them to independent effort in this direction. 

Meaning of Words 

Fourth-grade children should not be referred to 
their dictionaries to learn, unaided, the meaning of a 
word which may have, as noun, verb, or adjective, a 



GRADE FOUR 19 

number of different meanings. The study of defini- 
tions is too difficult for this grade, though simple 
work can be done under the guidance of the teacher. 
The other work outlined is of such fundamental 
importance, however, that it seems wise to spend all 
the time upon it, and leave definitions for the higher 
grades. 

Use of Dictionary 

1. The use of the dictionary should be begun in 
the first lesson, and it should be continued daily 
throughout the year. The children who have a dic- 
tionary at home know its main uses, which are: to 
tell us how to spell words, how to pronounce them, 
and what they mean. Children should first be led 
to discover that all words beginning with the same 
letter are grouped, and that these groups are ar- 
ranged according to the letters of the alphabet, that 
is, alphabetically. 

Having learned these facts, let them compare the 
number of pages given to the various letters (in a 
general way), and afterwards find out what letter 
comes in the middle of the book, what one halfway 
to the middle, and what one halfway between the 
middle and the end. Indicate very clearly, in the 
alphabet on the blackboard, the letters thus found. 
Indicate them also on any other copies of the alpha- 



20 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

bet which pupils may be using. Then drill for a few 
minutes upon opening the book quickly at a given 
letter. Continue this drill daily until pupils have 
learned to find a given letter quickly. 

2. Suggestive lessons 

As soon as the alphabet is thoroughly memorized, 
pupils are ready for work of this kind: 

(a) Write on the blackboard two words begin- 
ning with the same letter, but in which the second 
letters are different, such as catch and crowd. Tell 
the children that you are going to teach them how 
to decide which one of these words comes first in the 
dictionary. Explain that when the first letters are 
the same they are to look at the second letters. To 
know which one of the above words comes first in the 
dictionary they have only to know whether a or r 
comes first in the alphabet, because all the words in 
the dictionary are arranged in exact alphabetical 
order even to their last letters. 

(b) After much practice with words like the 
above, give them two words like stick and stone, in 
which the third letters have to be considered. The 
teacher can go further, and the brighter pupils will 
understand, but the class as a whole will not follow 
her clearly. It seems better, therefore, to go no 



GRADE FOUR 21 

further than is here suggested in this grade. This 
work is not only fundamentally important, but in- 
teresting as well, and teachers should do as much of 
it as their classes need. Some work of this kind 
might well be done in almost every lesson. 

(c) Write on the blackboard two words such as 
fable, freedom. Be sure that the words you select are 
so far apart alphabetically that many common words 
come between them. Then ask the children to tell you 
some words which they are sure will be found between 
these two words in their dictionaries. They should 
form the habit of giving .the reason why, in each case. 
For example, if a child gives the word fence, he should 
be able to add: ^^ Because /e comes after /a and before 
/r." Mistakes will be made, and at first very fre- 
quently, but children should always be helped to 
understand why their words are not accepted. It is 
suggested that the words accepted as correct be 
written in a column between the two words on the 
blackboard, and later rearranged alphabetically with 
the teacher's help. 

3. Take dictionaries. Call attention to the 
''catch words" at the top of each page. Pupils 
should look elsewhere on the page for these words, 
and discover, after examining several pages, that 
these ''catch words" or ''page headings" are always 



22 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

the first and the last words on the page. Explain 
how this saves time in finding words. Begin to 
teach children how to find the page a given word is on 
by looking at the page headings only. Give much 
practice in finding the page a given word is on with- 
out actually finding the word, in order that children 
may form the habit of using the page headings. 

4. Give lists of words (different initials) to be 
arranged by pupils in alphabetical order without 
help, but not more than ten or twelve words at first. 
This can be done in connection with the first lessons 
on the alphabet. Later, in connection with the lessons 
just outlined, four or five words beginning with the 
same letter may be given each day for alphabetical 
arrangement. This work should always be verified. 

Rules for Spelling 

Teach the following rules for spelling in this grade, 
and while so doing select words illustrating them for 
the spelling lessons. 

Note: These rules are not to be stated to the class, and then 
illustrated by examples, but should be discovered by the pupils 
under the guidance of the teacher, by reasoning inductively from 
lists of words. 

Rule 1. Words ending in silent e generally omit 
the e when they take an ending beginning with a 
vowel, such as ing, able, ed, etc. 



GRADE FOUR 23 

Ex., write, writing; love, lovable; place, placed; guide, 
guidance. 

The e in these words is generally retained when 
they take an ending beginning with a consonant, 
such as less, ly, ment, etc. 

Ex., care, careless; love, lovely; state, statement; use, 
useful. 

Rule 2, (Precede by explanation of the expression 
'^ compound word.") 

The two parts of a compound word are usually 
spelled as when they stand alone. 

'Ex., fireworks, windmill, bookcase. 

When, however, the word full becomes the second 
part of a compound word it loses the last I. 

Ex., handful, truthful, cheerful, spoonful, cupful. 

Suggestion: 

It will be good daily practice in all grammar 
grades to have the two or three most difficult words 
which are to be assigned for the next spelling lesson 
looked up by the pupils in their dictionaries, pro- 
nounced distinctly, and copied from the dictionaries, 
before the lesson is placed on the blackboard. Cor- 
rect spelling is practically assured by clear, distinct 
pronunciation, and a few minutes' attentive study. 



24 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

GRADE FIVE 

Minimum time required, one and one-half hours a week 
for eight weeks. Total, twelve hours. 

Incorporate in the work outlined for this grade 
under each topic, a review of that of the preceding 
grade under the corresponding topic. (See Preface, 
Point 5.) 

The Alphabet 

Complete the work begun in grade four. Make 
sure that before leaving this grade every child is 
thoroughly familiar with the order of the letters, and 
can write all their script forms without a copy. 
Given any letter, he should be able to name the one 
preceding or the one following it, or both, with but 
little hesitation. Quiz daily for a while, until you 
can name any letter and get quick responses. For 
example, the teacher says d, and the child responds 
c, d, e; when r is named he says g, r, s, etc. Placing 
the given letter between the one which precedes and 
the one which follows it requires more familiarity 
with the alphabet than does the drill suggested for 
grade four. But both will help. 

Practice, in the penmanship lessons, words con- 
taining the letters g, x, and ?, both capitals and 
small letters. 



GRADE FIVE 25 

Vowels 

1. Teach, in words, the following sound symbols: 
a, a, 6, u. As indicated by the diacritic, the sound 
represented by 6 is between the o in not and the o 
in orb. Care should be taken to teach a and 6 cor- 
rectly. These two sounds are more difficult than 
a and vl, 

A practical and effective way of teaching these 
sounds is to select short, common words in which 
they occur, and place these words in phrases. This 
method of teaching vowel sounds is commended to 
teachers of all grades. Sounds taught in this way 
are more readily recalled when children come upon 
them in their oral reading. 

The following phrases illustrate the method: 

at the last moment 
when the dance was over 
always asking questions 
a path through the woods 
long blades of grass 

the high cost of living 
enough cloth for a coat 
with a song in his heart 
only a dog 
gone to the rescue 



26 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

2. Explain what a diphthong is. Show that oy 
equals oi, and that ow equals ou. Occasionally ask 
for a word containing a diphthong lest pupils forget 
the meaning of the word. 

3. Drill pupils individually on the key words. 
Teachers should aim to perfect each child's pro- 
nunciation of these words and to help him form the 
habit of referring to the key words when in doubt as 
to the sound indicated by any diacritic. 

Ask children for words having the same vowel sound 
as one of the key words, and train their ears to dis- 
tinguish words in which these sounds exactly cor- 
respond. Explain rime. Call for words which rime 
with each other. 

Make sure that '^respelling" is understood by 
every member of the class. 

Syllabication 

1. Teach that a syllable is a part of a word pro- 
nounced by a single impulse of the voice ; and that it 
may consist of but a single vowel, as in the words 
again, and idea. 

2. Continue ear training. Pronounce many com- 
mon words distinctly, and call upon pupils to spell 
them by syllables. Put words on the blackboard 
and have pupils pronounce them and indicate by oral 



GRADE FIVE 27 

spelling where they should be divided. Make note 
of errors made by members of the class in dividing 
words in their written work, and have correct divi- 
sion made by the class. Incidentally, as examples 
occur, call attention to the simple rules noted below, 
and apply them whenever opportunity occurs, both 
in the spelHng lessons and in this work. Before 
leaving grade five pupils should know, and be able to 
apply, these rules: 

Rule 1, The members of a compound word may 
be separated in writing. 

Ex., post man, farm yard, mill stone, bee hive. 

Rule 2. Do not separate in writing two letters 
(whether vowels or consonants) which have a single 
sound. 

Ex., or phsLii, sing er, boil er, thick er, ash es, 
cow ard, arc/iing. 

Rule 3. Vowels coming together but sounded 
separately belong to separate syllables. 

Ex., a or ta, sci ence, a e ri al, i de a. 

Note : Do not call attention, in this grade, to exceptions to above 
rule. 

Rule 4' Every written syllable must contain a 
vowel or a diphthong. Therefore, words like thought, 
through, scratched (because the e is silent), drowned, 



28 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

(same reason), wrought, and strength, since they con- 
tain but one vowel sound, have but one syllable, and 
so cannot be divided in writing. The work done in 
the fourth grade under Syllabication leads to the 
formulation of this rule. 

It is suggested that a game like the old-fashioned 
spelhng bee may be made of exercises in syllabica- 
tion. This, like the spelling bee, would serve to 
intensify interest by linking the work with the 
fighting instinct. 

Accent 

The teaching of syllabication and accent may be 
effectively combined, thus : The teacher pronounces 
the word remarkable. The pupil called upon replies, 
^^ Remarkable is a word of four syllables. The accent 
is on the second syllable." Give many words of two, 
three, and four syllables (which have but one ac- 
cented syllable) having pupils reply as suggested. 
This can be done with shorter words in grade four. 
Associate accent in speech with accent in music, and 
lead children to realize how monotonous either would 
be without it. 

If the class is prepared to take up words having 
two accented syllables in this grade (and if time per- 
mits), suggestions for further work will be found in 
the outline for the sixth grade. 



GRADE FIVE 29 

Pronunciation 

Insist upon clear enunciation and good quality of 
voice. 

1, Common Words. As in grade four, the teacher 
should make note during the year of the common 
words most generally mispronounced by her pupils. 
These words should be made the subject of special 
dictionary study, as suggested in the Outline for 
Grade Four. Present hut one of these words at a time. 
Have all find the word in their dictionaries, analyze 
it into its separate sounds, and decide upon the cor- 
rect pronunciation. The word should then be used 
in sentences until this pronunciation becomes fixed. 
Some words suggested for special study are : athletic, 
library, February, surprise, mischievous, recognize, 
probably, lightning, genuine, laugh, laundry, Italian, 
soften, recipe, almond, pumpkin, several, elm, umbrella, 
figure. 

Words containing the long sound of u (commonly 
mispronounced ob) require constant correction in all 
grades. The habit of pronouncing such common 
words as new, dew, avenue, duty, tune, Tuesday^ and 
the Hke, correctly, will come only by quiet insistence 
on the teacher's part that they be pronounced cor- 
rectly in daily conversation. '^Che pronunciation at 
stated times of lists of words^ quite isolated from 



30 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

thought has little effect upon one's habitual pro- 
nunciation of these words in conversation. 

2. Unfamiliar and New Words, Continue to 
train pupils to get the pronunciation of unfamiliar 
words for themselves by applying their knowledge 
of diacritical marks and by referring to the keyline. 
In selecting unfamiliar words for them to look up 
and pronounce it is well to have in mind — on the 
principle that prevention is better than cure — words 
upon which older children, and even adults, stumble, 
such as finance, portiere, parliament, syndicate, neu- 
ralgia, cupola, casualties, etc. They should also 
look up and learn to pronounce such words as dirigi- 
ble, aeroplane, camouflage, sabotage, hangar, dicto- 
graph and vaudeville, words which they should under- 
stand and be able to use in conversation but which 
they do not as yet use to any extent in writing. 
Here, also, call attention to but one word at a time, 
placing it in a phrase or sentence. By glancing 
ahead over the day's lessons in reading and in 
history, words will suggest themselves for this work. 

3. Words from Dictionaries. Have occasional 
practice in pronouncing columns of words from the 
dictionary — individually, of course. Children will 
enjoy this work, which is a practical application of 
all they have been taught in their dictionary lessons. 



GRADE FIVE 31 

Meaning of Words 

Until the parts of speech are learned pupils cannot 
be referred to their dictionaries for definitions to any 
extent. Here, as in grade four, they should do this 
work only under the guidance of the teacher. It is 
probably best to leave most of this work for higher 
grades. 

Use of Dictionary 

Review and continue this work as outlined for 
grade four, still emphasizing the importance of the 
page headings. To form in children the habit of rely- 
ing upon these, continue to give them practice in 
finding and naming the page a word is on, without 
actually finding the word. This work may be made 
very enjoyable to children, and their mental activity 
stimulated, by making a game of it, — class competing 
with class, boys with girls, or row with row. 

For this purpose each child should have dictionary, 
paper, and pencil on his desk. At the word '^Go^' a 
list of words on the blackboard is uncovered, and the 
children find and note the page each word is on, 
standing when they finish. The list should not be a 
long one, as children will want to *'play the game" 
several times. 

Another ''game" which children will enjoy may 
be played as follows : Have all the dictionaries on 



32 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

the desks. Call upon a child to go to the black- 
board, open his book at random, and copy one of the 
page headings. As children think of a word which 
must be on that page they stand, and the teacher 
writes on the blackboard the words they name. The 
child naming a word must stand ready to tell how 
he knows the word is on that page, if questioned. If 
there is a disagreement about any word, dictionaries 
should be consulted, and the point which caused the 
children to differ should be explained jby the teacher. 
Of course, the child who thinks of a word first (if 
right) wins, and takes the other's place at the 
board. 

Lists of from five to fifteen words should frequently 
be given the class for alphabetical arrangement. 
Make the work a little harder than in grade four by 
having many or all of the words begin with the same 
letter. After all understand how to do this, and 
have acquired some facility in doing it, test row with 
row, or boys with girls, for speed. 

RULES FOR SPELLING 

Review the rules for spelling taught in grade four, 
teaching, in connection with the rules, the spelling 
of a great many common words ending in ful, ing, 
ly, ed, lesSj able, etc. 



GRADE SIX 33 

The purpose of this review is to lead pupils to 
formulate these rules over again. See Note under 
Rules for Spelling, Outline for Grade Four. 

Each day have the two or three most difficult 
words which are to be assigned for the next spelling 
lesson looked up in the dictionaries, the separate 
sounds given, and the words pronounced, used in 
sentences, and copied. (Place but one word before 
the class at a time.) 

GRADE SIX 

Minimum time required, including ''Word Study," 
which is mainly language work, one and one-half hours a 
week for eight weeks. Total, twelve hours. 

Before beginning this work teachers are referred to 
Point 5 in Preface. 

The Alphabet 

Give a few five-minute drills to make sure that all 
have mastered this fundamental part of dictionary 
study. See OutHnes for Fourth and Fifth Grades. 

Vowels 

1. Review all vowel sounds previously taught, 
preferably placing words containing these sounds in 
sentences for practice. Test pronunciation of in- 
dividual pupils and let them criticize each other. 



34 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

Pay special attention to the pronunciation of words 
containing a, 6, and u. A great deal of the work out- 
lined for these grades is ear training, and as in music, 
so in speech, pupils should early become sensitive to 
inaccuracies. Of course this teaching will not 
amount to much unless it is lived up to outside the 
period devoted to this work. It is by imitation and 
practice, not by doctrine, that correctness of speech 
is acquired. The teacher's English, her enunciation, 
her voice, should be a constant guide to her class, 
and the day's work affords many opportunities for 
suggestion and correction. 

2. Teach that the semi-macron (-^), when placed 
over amy vowel, indicates a sound approaching the 
long, or name sound, of that vowel; and that it is 
used in unaccented syllables only. If pupils are 
taught to pronounce a vowel so marked as nearly 
like the long sound of that vowel as they can, they 
will probably get it right. Give practice in pro- 
nouncing words containing a, e, o, u. Explain how a 
silent vowel is indicated in the dictionary. 

Syllabication 

See explanation of word ''syllable" on Outline for 
Grade Five, which is sufficiently definite for this grade. 

1. Teach pupils, when dividing words at the end 
of a line, not to let the first or the last syllable stand 



GRADE SIX 35 

alone if it is a single letter. Ex., a fraid, a pricot, 
bush y, slipper y. Where may apricot and slippery 
be divided in writing? 

2. Teach pupils that the endings ness, less, like, 
ship, tion, sion, and ment always form final syllables. 

Ex., hap pi ness, care less, child like, pen man 
ship, auc tion, di men sion, judg ment, 

3. Study words ending in ed. Write on the 
blackboard a long list of these words, making sure 
that in some the e is sounded, as in founded, con- 
tented, etc., and that in others it is silent, as in walked, 
drowned, attacked, etc. Have pupils apply their defi- 
nition of a syllable, ^'sl part of a word pronounced by 
a single impulse of the voice, '' and discover why the 
ed forms a syllable in some of these words and not in 
others. Then have this list of words (or another 
list) copied with the division into syllables indicated. 
Pronounce many words of both kinds to the class, 
and have them tell you how many syllables each has 
and where it may be divided. Do thorough work 
before leaving this, as the habit of dividing ed from 
the rest of the word when it does not form a separate 
syllable, is one of the commonest mistakes made in 
writing by children of the elementary grades. 

4. Review rules for syllabication given in the 
Outline for Grade Five and make many applications. 



36 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

The Hyphen 

Refer to Note under Hyphen in Fourth-Grade 
Outline. Recall the two proper uses of the hyphen. 
Call the attention of pupils to the light hyphen used 
in dictionaries to separate syllables, and explain that 
the hyphen is not used for that purpose outside the 
dictionary. A heavy hyphen between the two parts 
of a compound word indicates that the hyphen is 
to be used in writing that" word. Dictionaries 
should be used to illustrate these points. 

A few common compound words in which good 
usage still requires the use of the hyphen are here 
given. Pupils will be less likely to forget how to 
write these words if they are required to find them 
in their dictionaries, and if they be placed — a few 
at a time — in the regular spelling lessons. 

brand-new lady's-slipper 

time-table looking-glass 

half-mast bull's-eye 

cross-stitch cat's-paw 

rolHng-pin right-angled 

trade-mark web-footed 

rocking-chair time-work 

forget-me-not light-hearted 

man-of-war round-shouldered 

merry-go-round cross-question 



GRADE SIX 37 

Accent 

Note: Children find this work hard, and it will require time 
and patience on the teacher's part. Avoid all special difficulties 
by carefully selecting words for study in advance of the lesson. 

Select a list of words having two accented syllables. 
Avoid words having two equally accented syllables 
(called ''even accent")- Also avoid words having 
two secondary accents. 

Pronouncing these words slowly and accenting 
them distinctly, train pupils first to distinguish the 
two accented syllables. (See suggestion in Outline 
for Grade Five for teaching syllabication and accent 
combined.) When they can tell readily which syl- 
lables are accented, pronounce each one over again 
—perhaps several times— until pupils can tell you 
which syllable has the strong, and which the weak, 
accent. (Simple ear training, just like the strong 
and weak accents in music.) 

When pupils are fairly keen in distinguishing the 
difference in accent, give the names, primary and 
secondary, and pass on to the next topic, giving the 
class practice in pronouncing words with two ac- 
cented syllables in connection with your work in 
pronunciation. 



38 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

Pronunciation 

1. All the diacritical marks needed (with the 
respelling) for the pronunciation of any word, have 
now been taught. Children should be tested indi- 
vidually upon the key words, and those who have 
difficulty in pronouncing any word correctly should 
have special help. 

2. Doubtless the sixth-grade teacher has ready 
her list of the words commonly mispronounced by her 
class. See Outline for Fifth Grade for suggestions. 

3. Continue to give pupils difficult or unfamiHar 
words to look up in their dictionaries, to study and 
pronounce independently. Occasionally have a word 
analyzed into its separate sounds in class. 

4. Give pupils much practice in pronouncing col- 
umns of words from their dictionaries. Emphasize 
clearness of enunciation and good quality of voice in 
all this work. Drill on common words containing 
the long sound of u, especially new, news, newsboy, 
newspaper, renew, neutral, Tuesday, duty and dew. 

Meaning of Words 

Begin the study of definitions. Starting with 
words used as one part of speech only, and having 
but one meaning, such as postage, quire, eider, hawser, 
mantel, sidle, autograph, etc., and using, of course, the 



GRADE SIX 39 

dictionaries with which pupils are provided, pass to 
words having two, three, four, or more meanings 
(but still words used as one part of speech only), such 
as diameter, grape, entry, day, golden, mallet, crew, 
notion, honest, simply, etc. Do not limit work to the 
few words here given. 

Explain that in all cases the first definition given 
is a statement or explanation of the earliest meaning 
of the word; and that very gradually, through the 
course of many years, it has come to have the other 
meanings given. {Webster.) 

Then pass to such words as head, merit, jam, master, 
collect, name, graze, cross, grasp, etc., words used as 
two or more parts of speech. Taking as an illustra- 
tion the word head, pupils will find that it has a num- 
ber of meanings when used as a noun, and other 
meanings when used as a verb or as an adjective. 

Children will now see that they cannot look up the 
meaning of any word intelligently without first 
knowing what part of speech it is; and that when 
they have this necessary knowledge they will be 
able to find for themselves the meaning of words 
which they do not understand. The recognition of 
this fact should, and doubtless will, quicken their 
interest in the study of grammar. The teacher will, 
of course, have to supply this information until 
pupils can dispense with her help. 



40 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

Give as much time as your schedule will allow to 
defining words. Have children find, in their history 
or reading lesson, a word they do not understand, 
and let the sentence containing the word be read 
aloud. Tell them, if they are unable to decide, what 
part of speech the word is as there used. Have 
pupils turn to it in their dictionaries, and, consider- 
ing the several meanings in turn (if it has more than 
one), decide by a study of the context which one is 
'Hhe meaning that fits.'' 

This work may be made extremely interesting, and 
the discrimination and good judgment which it 
demands make it excellent mental training. 

Pupils should know that all abbreviations which 
they may come across in the dictionary are explained 
on the page opposite the first page of A's. They 
should learn the abbreviations for the different parts 
of speech as they are studied. 

They should also be told (as the singular and 
plural forms of nouns have been taught before the 
sixth year) to look for the singular form always, in 
looking up any noun in their small dictionaries. If 
the plural form is irregular, or if an irregular form 
might be expected, the plural form will be given 
after the singular. If it is not given, it is because it 
is formed in the usual way. 



GRADE SIX 



41 



Word Study 

1. Pupils should have much practice in writing 
in sentences the words given in the following lists, 
and a few similar words. Drill thoroughly on the 
words in columns a and b without making reference 
to the words pronounced like them. Afterwards 
drill in the same manner on the words in columns 
c and d. 



(a) 


(b) 


(c) 


(d) 


whole 


would 


hole 


wood 


flower 


steel 


flour 


steal 


bow 


write 


bough 


right 


waist 


great 


waste 


grate 


too 


wait 


two 


weight 


way 


pain 


weigh 


pane 


their 


stair 


there 


stare 


knew 


berth 


new 


birth 


bear 


night 


bare 


knight 


pour 


wring 


pore 


ring 


peace 


threw 


piece 


through 


made 


heal 


maid 


heel 


fair 


forth 


fare 


fourth 



These homonyms are selected because they are 
obviously such as must be familiar to sixth-grade 
pupils. Until both words (write, right) or all the 
words (pear, pair, pare) have been taught separately 



42 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

and used by pupils in their written work, they should 
not be presented in pairs or groups. This principle 
applies to the teaching of homonyms in any grade. 
Such homonyms as faint, feint, and duel, dual, should 
be avoided in elementary grades, as the second word 
of each pair is a word for which pupils have as yet 
no use in writing; and the result of teaching these 
words as homonyms now would be to confuse their 
thinking when they might have occasion to use the 
word faint or the word duel. 

Familiar homonyms may be made the basis of 
interesting oral language work. Let the teacher 
pronounce any one of the words in the list here given, 
and call upon a pupil to give a sentence illustrating 
either one of the two words so pronounced, spelling 
the word he uses. If his use of the word, and also 
his spelling of it, is correct, he calls upon another 
pupil to spell the homonym, and illustrate its use in 
a sentence. If this pupil's work is correct, the 
teacher names another word, proceeding as before. 

Or the teacher may give a sentence using any one 
of the words, and the pupil called upon may spell 
the word used in her sentence. Various interesting 
ways of studying these words orally will suggest 
themselves to teachers, who should, however, bear 
in mind that children are taught to spell words only 
in order that they may be able to write them. Oral 



GRADE SIX 43 

teaching should be combined with much practice in 
writing these words in sentences. For this written 
drill the dictation exercise is commended. 

2. Study a few common words which are often 
wrongly used for one another. Consult dictionaries, 
and have sentences given in which each is correctly 
used. Continue drill by using them in your dicta- 
tion exercises. The following are suggested for study : 

awful and very; funny and strange; 

think and guess; may and can; 

in and into; large, big and great; 

good and well; had and badly; 

teach and learn. 

Teach and learn need special attention. 
Use of Dictionary 

1 . The children have now acquired some facility in 
using their dictionaries. From now on, these books 
should lie on their desks during the composition 
period, and the ''guessing'^ habit should be frowned 
upon. Pupils should form the habit of referring to 
their dictionaries whenever in doubt about the spell- 
ing or syllabication of any word, and later on for 
synonyms or any needed information about a word 
which they wish to use. 

Train pupils to use the quickest method of finding 
a word. After glancing at the page headings, and 



44 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

deciding what page the word they want is on, teach 
them to glance at the first word in each column, and 
decide in which column it will be found. Give con- 
siderable practice in having page and column given 
before locating the word in order to establish the 
right habit, the one that saves time. To require 
children to tell you a few words which will be found 
under given page headings is especially good training. 
(See in Outline for Grade Five devices for making 
this work interesting.) 

Explain the importance of understanding the 
alphabetical arrangement of words, and of being able 
to find a word or title quickly, not only in the dic- 
tionary, but in all reference books, in city and tele- 
phone directories, in library and all card catalogues, 
in voting lists, etc. Tell pupils how letters are filed in 
offices. Continue to give lists of words and also lists 
of names (some beginning with the same and some 
with different letters) to be alphabetically arranged. 
Make lists longer and more difficult than in grade five. 

2. Begin to study and use the large dictionary. 
Explain why the page is divided, and in a general 
way tell pupils what words are above, and what be- 
low, the line. Perhaps the best rule for this grade 
is to look first above the line for any word. If it is 
not there, then look below the line. In almost every 



GRADE SIX 45 

case it will be found above the line. Call attention 
to the fact that the one page heading answers for 
both parts of the page. Show pupils where to look 
for geographical and biographical names (for every- 
thing else they should look in the dictionary proper), 
and where to look for the meaning of abbreviations 
used in this book. The pictures and diagrams in the 
New International Dictionary are especially valu- 
able. See that all pupils are given opportunity to 
browse a little in this book, and they will discover for 
themselves how much of interest is to be found in 
the pictorial illustrations. 

All this teaching will require some time, as it must 
be accompanied by practice. Encourage pupils to 
consult the large dictionary for information not con- 
tained in their desk books, and see that all acquire 
some facility in using it before they leave the grade. 
For definitions, however, it will be best to continue 
using the smaller dictionaries almost exclusively. 
So many definitions are given in the unabridged edi- 
tion that children of this grade are more confused 
than helped by its use for that purpose. 

Rules for Spelling 

Teach the following rules inductively, as the result 
of studying many words ending in y, and of learning 
to spell those words. 



46 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

Note: Before teaching these rules teachers are asked to refer 
to the suggestions for teaching them given on the page of "General 
Suggestions," and also on the OutUnes for Grade Four and Grade 
Seven. 

Rule 1. Words ending in y preceded by a conso- 
nant usually change y to i before any termination not 
beginning with i. 

Ex., icy, iciest; mercy, merciless; tidy, tidiness; reply, 
replies; try, tried; pity, pitiful. 

Note: The y is kept before a syllable beginning with i in order 
that two i's may not come together. 

Ex., try, trying; copy, copyist; herry, berrying. 

Rule 2. Words ending in y preceded by a vowel 
usually retain the y before any termination. 

Ex., play, plays, player; obey, obeying; joy, joyful; 
stay, stayed; gray, grayish. 

Note: Proper names ending in y do not come under the above 
rules for spelling. The y in all these words remains unchanged when 
s, the only termination ever used, is added. 

Ex., Mary, Marys; Henry, Henrys; Guy, Guys. 

Rule 3. How to choose between ei and ie. 
When ei or ie has the sound of e, the following rule 
generally holds good. 

After c, the combination is ei, 

Ex., ceiling, receive, deceit. 



GRADE SEVEN 47 

After any other letter than c, the combination is ie, 
Ex., believe, grieve, chief. 

As in preceding grades, make it a daily practice to 
have the two most difficult words selected for the 
spelling lesson given orally to the class, to be looked 
up by each child for himself and copied from his dic- 
tionary. This insures daily use of the dictionary and 
is good for the spelling. 



GRADE SEVEN 

Minimum time required, one and one-half hours a week 
for eight weeks. Total, twelve hours. 

Since much of the work here outlined is language 
as well as dictionary study, the time can profitably 
be extended. 

It is recommended that teachers begin '^Special 
Grade Seven Work" at once, reviewing ^' Vowel and 
Consonant Sounds," one or two at a time, at the 
beginning of each lesson. 

Vowels and Consonants 

1. Briefly review all vowel and consonant sounds 
taught in the preceding grades. Try to perfect 
pupils^ pronunciation of the words in the keyline. 



48 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

2. Attention of pupils may be called to the 
letters w and y, which are not always vowels or 
always consonants. Before touching upon this the 
teacher should study carefully what is said about 
these letters in the Unabridged Dictionary under 
'^A Guide to Pronunciation." Most of this is too 
difficult for the understanding of grammar-grade 
pupils, and therefore for this grade it may be re- 
duced to the following, or omitted entirely: 

F, when equal to /, is a vowel. 

It may have, as a vowel, any one of these three 
sounds : 

The long sound of ^. Ex., my 
The short sound of i. Ex., myth 
The sound of i in fir. Ex., myrtle 

The wavy line over e, i, or y indicates the sound of 
e in fern. 

Ex., her, sir, myrrh. 

Y, when not equivalent to I, is a consonant. 

Ex., yes, year, heyond, vineyard, your, yeast. 

As a consonant, it will be seen that y occurs at the 
beginning of a syllable. 

As a vowel, it occurs in the middle or at the end of 
a syllable. 

W is never a pure vowel. It may combine with a 
vowel to form a diphthong, as in the words cow, dew, 



GRADE SEVEN 49 

few, new, flower, town. Be careful what words you 
add to this Hst. 

TF is a consonant in such words as we, wood, re- 
ward, dwarf, twelve, window, away, etc. 

W is silent before r in the same syllable: Ex., write, 
wring, awry. 

Accent 

If pupils have not observed that in certain words 
the accent is sometimes on the first syllable and 
sometimes on the second, have them look up a few 
words like rebel, present, conduct, permit, and perfect; 
and after discovering that this is so, let them as- 
certain the reason. 

Sentences should then be written illustrating the 
two ways in which these or similar words are used. 
Correlate this work with the work in language and 
spelling. 

Words containing both primary and secondary 
accent will doubtless require further attention in 
this grade. 

Syllabication 

Complete the child's idea of a syllable, which is 
defined as ^' a vowel or diphthong, either by itself or 
combined with one or more consonants, and pro- 
duced by one impulse of the voice." (Do not, how- 



50 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

ever, teach this definition.) Recall Rule 4 under 
'^ Rules for Syllabication/' Outline for Grade Five. 

No further time is allowed here. This work 
should, however, be continued throughout the 
grades in connection with the spelling lessons. 
Teach, with the spelling, the proper syllabication of 
each word, and insist upon its correct division in 
oral spelling. (See ''The Syllabication of Written 
Words, '' Outline for Grade Four.) 

Special Work for Grade Seven 

If the work of the preceding grades has been well 
done, the first object of this course of study has 
been practically accomplished. Pupils have acquired 
ability to use their dictionaries, and they have also 
acquired a certain degree of facility in using them. 
From this point on, the work should be correlated 
more closely with the language work of the grade; 
and while continuing the daily study and use of the 
dictionary, pupils should see clearly that the work 
they are doing in the dictionary period has a definite 
and practical relation to their work in oral and 
written language. • The work outlined on the follow- 
ing pages will, it is hoped, accomplish to some extent 
the object we have in view, which is: To create 
interest in dictionary study as a means to, not as an 
end in, education. 



GRADE SEVEN 51 

Word Building 

Teach the meaning of the words prefix and suffix. 
Taking a simple root word, and using a prefix, 
suffix, or both, build a familiar word, as break, un- 
breakable. Explain the meaning of the prefix un 
and of the suffix able. Using the same prefix and 
the same suffix with other words, such as thinks 
change, teach, answer, speak, desire, tenant, and bear, 
have pupils define the words thus built. 

In a similar way, using other root words and other 
prefixes and suffixes, build other words. Every 
prefix and suffix used should be clearly defined and 
should be used with a number of root words, so that 
its meaning will be remembered. 

A knowledge of the meaning of common prefixes 
and suffixes will unlock the meaning of many a word 
which the child comes upon in his silent reading. 
Much interest can be created in this work, and much 
profitable work done; but keep in mind that the 
awakening of interest is the main thing. Before 
children^ose interest in this work pass on to the next 
topic. This suggestion applies to the work under 
any topic. 

This work should be correlated with the work in 
spelling. Let children have the pleasure of making an 
occasional spelling lesson out of the words they 
build. Call attention here to the fact that prefixes 



52 



DICTIONARY OUTLINES 



and suffixes may be separated from the body of the 
word in writing, though this rule is noted further on. 

A few common Anglo-Saxon root words are here 
noted for the teacher's convenience: /ree, heart, 
bright, send, hope, come, lamb, true, talk, take. 

And, merely as suggestions, a few words made 
from the above: freedom, heartily, heartless, bright- 
ness, missent, hopeful, become, coming, lambkin, un- 
truthful, talker, retake. 

Some Common Prefixes and Suffixes 



thermo 


over 


super 


tri 


auto 


inter 


mal 


mono 


sub 


omni 


extra 


semi (hemi) 


circum 


contra 


fore 


trans 


un 


mis 


bi 


dis 


re 


deci 


milli 


pre 


Suffixes 








hood 


or 


ish 


scope 


like 


dom 


ess 


graph 


ship 


er 


ful 


itis 


ness 


less 


ly 


able (ible) 


teen 


some 


kin 


ment 


fold 


ing 


est 


most 



Note: Prefixes and suffixes, whether of one or two syllables, 
may be separated from the body of the word in writing. 



GRADE SEVEN 53 

Right Use of Words (Dictionary Study) 

1. Continue to study homonyms, teaching only 
those most commonly used by pupils in their written 
work; but teaching those thoroughly, and always in 
phrases or sentences. 

2. The following adjectives are often misused, 
and should be made the subject of special dictionary 
study and class discussion, combined with both oral 
and written work : nice, elegant, grand, awful, wonder- 
ful, lovely, great, fine, real. 

3. Other words often misused are the following: 
these, those, them, got, each, every, both, any. 

(Teachers will be limited by time only in this 
work.) 

Synonyms 

Seventh-grade pupils should begin to discrimi- 
nate between words similar in meaning, but fine dis- 
tinctions cannot, of course, be attempted here. 

Select for this work words which have a clear, 
definite meaning in the child's mind. The following 
words are suggested as suitable for this grade : 

strong, weak, story, teach, tall, rich, blunder, comical, 
thrifty, precise, struggle, polite, healthy, cautious, 
assist, reply, conceal, accept. 

Explain that a synonym is a word while a defini- 
tion is an explanation of the meaning of a word; and 



54 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

illustrate each by many examples, else pupils will 
confuse synonyms with definitions. 

Illustration: The word stray. 

To stray means to go out of the way. This is a 
definition. 

The words rove, roam, and wander are synonyms 
of stray, since all these words are nearly alike in 
meaning. 

'^The child strayed from home, and was lost.-" 

Substitute each synonym in turn for the word 
strayed, and decide which one is most nearly like it in 
meaning (in this sentence). 

Do enough work of this kind to make the word 
synonym clearly understood before asking pupils to 
think of synonyms for given words, and do not ask 
for more than one or two synonyms for any word. 

Spend enough time on this work to open the 
children's eyes to the possibilities which a study of 
English affords. Call their attention to the fact 
that one great difference between good writing and 
poor — as also between good speaking and poor — 
lies in a person's ability to choose just the right word 
to express his meaning on all occasions. Pupils 
should choose their words more carefully as their 
vocabulary enlarges, and for this purpose should 
refer to their dictionaries more frequently in the 
composition period. 



GRADE SEVEN 



55 



Pronunciation 



Place emphasis upon clear enunciation and good 
quality of voice. 

Keep up practice in pronouncing columns of words 
from the dictionary, and continue to correct faulty 
pronunciation in the manner outlined in the preced- 
ing grades. To the teacher's list, made up of the 
errors of her own pupils, any or all of the following 
words may be added: 



advertisement 


because 


cellar 


catch 


diamond 


every 


gooseberry 


Chicago 


column 


commandment 


doth 


effort 


forbade (bade) 


glisten (Usten) 


hearth 


herb 


inaugurate 


Italian 


literature 


mischievous 


naked 


national 


overalls 


pageant 


preface 


quay 


salmon 


long-lived (i) 


soften 


soon (60) 


sword 


telegrapher 


tiny 


tortoise 



56 



DICTIONARY OUTLINES 



vase 


weapon 


while 


yolk 


bronchial 


neuralgia 


bouquet 


brooch 


chestnut 


deaf 


faucet 


genuine 


Iowa 


dessert 


depot 


dog 


February- 


fiord 


grimy 


half 


history 


hospitable 


italic 


leisure 


mock 


moisten 


nothing 


often 


perspiration 


poem 


really 


root 
route 


since 


suite 


surprise 


Thames 


their ) 
there ) 


toward 


whether 


which 


want 


wound 


Arctic 


kept (swept, etc.) 



Alphabetical Arrangement of Words 

Continue giving lists of words to be alphabetically 
arranged, though not so frequently. Make the lists 



GRADE SEVEN 57 

as hard as possible. This is good work for pupils to 

do before school. Always have the correct list read 

or written on the blackboard when the work is 

finished. 

Study and Use of the Unabridged Dictionary 

As pupils come to know the parts of speech they 
will be able to use the dictionary quite independ- 
ently; but teachers will have to supply this informa- 
tion until pupils acquire it. Teach the abbreviation 
used for each part of speech as it is studied. 

1. Review Sixth Grade Work (See Preface, Point 5) 
Remind pupils where to look for biographical and 

geographical names. All other words will be found 
in the dictionary proper. Their attention should 
also be called to the pictorial illustrations in the back 
of the book, and interest created in them. 

2. The '^ divided page" may need further ex- 
planation. The rule given in grade six, '^Look first 
above the Hne for the word you want; if it is not there 
look below the Une, " is good at the start; but children 
will find it interesting to know what particular in- 
formation is to be found above, and what below, the 
dividing Hne. Therefore give them practice in look- 
ing up fictitious and Bible names, Christian names, 
mythological names, abbreviations, and foreign 



58 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

words and phrases, until they become fairly keen in 
knowing where to look for these things. 

3. Explain the term obsolete, and teach the ab- 
breviation used for it. Call attention to the great 
number of these words in the lower section of each 
page. Children will be interested in the thought that 
English is a live, growing language; that new words 
are constantly coming into use and old ones dying 
out. Discuss the use of slang in this connection. 

4. Let pupils look up a few nouns having ir- 
regular plurals, and discover that their plural forms 
are given in the dictionary. When they have 
studied verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, show them 
that all the irregular verb forms, and the irregular 
comparisons of adjectives and adverbs, are also given 
here. Remind them, if they have forgotten, where 
to find the list of abbreviations used in the dictionary. 

5. Explain etymology, or derivation, and have 
pupils note that this information is always bracketed. 
Children will find this part of dictionary study very 
interesting if the teacher is careful to choose words 
the derivation of which they can understand. The 
following words are suggested as a beginning because 
the derivation of each is interesting: 

holiday, handkerchief, breakfast, daisy, Christmas, 
chapel, candidate, book, knave, linoleum. 



GRADE SEVEN 59 

Explain what is meant by '^Common Christian 
Names. '^ Note the derivation and meaning of a few. 
Let the children look up any name in which they are 
interested. The habit of observing the derivation of 
words willjhelp children to remember their meanings. 
Incidentally, they will learn from what languages 
most English words are derived, and the meaning of 
some root words, prefixes, and suffixes. 

6. When studying a word from the large dic- 
tionary, the attention of pupils should be called to 
the quotations which illustrate some of the ways in 
which that word is used by eminent writers of 
English. These quotations, Hke the picture illus- 
trations, help to make the definitions clear, and 
pupils should form the habit of reading them care- 
fully. 

The study of one or two well-chosen words at this 
point will prove extremely interesting work, and will 
provide the best kind of a review. But one word 
should be studied in a lesson, and not more than two 
or three need be studied in class. The special object 
of this work is to show pupils how much of interest 
is to be found in the study of a single word, and to 
smooth the way for their spontaneous work in this 
line. The review, though important, is secondary 
to the object stated. 



60 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

If the outline here given is followed, use will have 
to be made of the unabridged dictionary, as many of 
the questions necessitate reference to that book. All 
the pupils but one will have to use their desk dic- 
tionaries. The one chosen to use the large dictionary 
should have a good voice, should be able to enunciate 
distinctly, and should have had some practice in 
using the book as well, or the exercise will be marred. 
If no such pupil is available, it will be best to have all 
that the large dictionary contains concerning the 
word to be studied written on the blackboard where 
all members of the class can see it. Some teachers 
will prefer this method in any case. 

Oral Study of a Word 

(Choose a noun for this exercise.) 

Is this word a common noun or a proper 
noun? 

How does the dictionary answer this question? 

How is it pronounced? (Study the respeUing.) 

Is more than one pronunciation of this word 
recognized? 

If so, which one should you use, and why? 

Is more than one form of spelling recognized? 

If so, which form ought you to use, and why? 

How is its plural form spelled? (If it has a plural 
form.) 



GRADE SEVEN 61 

From what language or languages is this word 
derived? 

Has the word a prefix that you recognize? If so, 
what is it, and what is its meaning? 

Has it a suffix that you recognize? If so, name 
that and give its meaning, also. 

Can you tell in what way the various definitions 
of this word are arranged?* 

What is the earliest meaning of the word? 

Is the word still used in this sense? 

Have any of its meanings become obsolete? 

If the word should become wholly obsolete, where 
would it be placed in the dictionary? (Omit this 
question unless using Webster's dictionary.) 

Is this word used in a colloquial sense? What 
does *' colloquial'' mean? 

Is any one of its meanings marked "rare^^? 

Is this word used as a noun only? 

Has it any synonyms? If so, what are they? 

Are any compound words formed with it? 

Can you recall a sentence illustrating any one of 
the meanings of this word? 

Can you construct one? 

* In the historical order, so far as has been ascertained; that is, as 
the various meanings have gradually become attached to the word. 
(Webster) .. 

In the order of usage; the most common meaning being given first 
if a word has more than one meaning. (The Standard) 



62 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

Teach the speUing of the following words which 
pupils may need to use in writing: 

alphabet, syllable, accent, primary, secondary, vowel, 
consonant, diphthong, hyphen, dictionary, synonym, 
abbreviation, obsolete, prefix, suffix, definition, pro- 
nunciation, keyline, derivation, derivative, termination, 
key word. 

Note : The practice of daily referring pupils to their dictionaries 
for the spelling of a few of the most difficult words which are to be 
assigned for the next speUing lesson is commended to teachers for two 
reasons : it focuses attention on the words most likely to be misspelled, 
and it also insures daily use of the dictionary. 

Rules for Spelling (To be taught inductively) 

Note: In using rules for spelling, teachers should bear in mind 
that the only function of the rule is to rivet attention upon the 
speUing, and that memorizing of the rule does not take the place of 
extensive drill in spelling. 

Rule L Words of one syllable, ending in a single 
consonant preceded by a single vowel, generally 
double the last consonant when a syllable beginning 
with a vowel is added. 

Ex., big, bigger; sit, sitting; red, reddish. 

Rule 2. Words of more than one syllable, ending 
in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, 
generally double the final consonant when a syllable 



GRADE SEVEN 63 

beginning with a vowel is added, if they are accented 
on the last syllable. 

Ex., permit, permitted; begin, beginning; forgot, 
forgotten. 

But, if accented on the first syllable, the final con- 
sonant is generally not doubled. 

Ex., travel, traveler; merit, merited; ravel, raveling. 

Rule 3. Monsyllables ending in ie (die, lie, tie), 
change ie to y before ing to prevent two i's from 
coming together. 

Ex., die, dying; lie, lying; tie, tying. 

Rules for Syllabication 

Rule 1. When a consonant is doubled before a 
termination, the division comes between the conso- 
nants so doubled. 

(Teach this rule in connection with the first part 
of Rule 2 above.) 

Rule 2. A syllable should not begin with x (sound- 
ing like ks or gz) or with an r preceded by a or e, 

Ex., anx ious; ex am ine; par ent; av er age. 



64 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR GRADE 
TESTS 
(As actually given in school) 

FOURTH GRADE 

1. Write the letters of the alphabet in their order. 

(Small letters.) 

2. Write the vowels in alphabetical order. V/rite 

a word to illustrate the name-sound of each 
' vowel. Mark the vowels. 

3. Mark the vowel in each of the following words: 

play, nut, ice, fat, me, trot, use, old, hut, in. 

4. Mark the a in star; the oo in bloom; the e in 

mercy; the o in horn; the oo in hook, 

5. How many sounds has cf Write a word illus- 

trating each. 

How many sounds has g? Write a word illus- 
trating each. 

Write a word illustrating the long sound of u. 

6. Divide the words which follow into their 

syllables : 

mother sister saucer careful goodness 

sparrow helieve paper laughing Friday 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 65 

7. Why cannot the words brought, thought, and 

asked be divided in writing? 

8. Mark the accented syllable in the words 

below : 

A pril, pen ny, di vide, ter ri hie, o hey, 

9. There are two words at the top of each page in 

your dictionary. What does the left-hand 
word tell you? The right-hand word? 

10. Below are five words. Draw a line under those 

which will be found between cent and crah in 
your dictionary: 

cave, coast, cut, chart, clove. 

11. Arrange the words which follow in alphabetical 

order : 



thread 


music 


hasket 


airship 


house 


lantern 


violin 


clover 


June 


island 


sunshine 


picture 


diamond 


fairy 


garden 


rohin 


kitten 


evening 


orchard 


winter 



66 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

12. Add the syllable ing to the following words: 
love, ride, write, walk, take. 

Add the syllable ed to the following words : 
live, add, save, divide, climb. 

Not more than ten questions to he given. 

It is suggested that not more than five he given at a 
time in this grade. 

FIFTH GRADE 

1. Dictation: (To test pupils 'ability to apply rules for 

spelling.) 

writer driving 

writing divided 

careless statement 

lovely handfuls 

lovable truthful 

2. Write the letters of the alphabet in their correct 

order. (Capitals.) 

3. Name the vowels in alphabetical order. 
What are all the other letters called? 

4. Mark the vowel in each of the following words: 
share, past, duty (the u), cost, furl. 

5. Write a word containing a diphthong. Draw a 

line under the diphthong. 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 67 

Write a word in which g sounds like j. 
One in which c sounds hke k. 
One in which s sounds hke z. 
One in which ph sounds hke /. 
One containing long u. 

Where may the following words be divided in 
writing? Copy them, leaving spaces be- 
tween the syllables. 



postman 


hopeful 


berries 


merrily 


writing 


elephant 


violin 


beUeved 


seventeen 


wringer 


Copy the words which follow, and mark the 


accented syllable: 




f am i ly 


de fend 


pen in su la 


bi cy cle 


A mer i ca 


die tion a ry 


re ceiv ing 


in hab it ant 


un der stand 


Eu ro pe an 


Arrange in alphabetical 


order: 


aboard 


airship 


Aladdin 


aster 


apple 


action 


amber 


average 



68 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 



agree 


anchor 


admire 


arch 


axis 


afoot 


ajar 


ahoy 


akimbo 


author 


aquarium 


aeroplane 



10. Name five words that will be found between 

the words babe and banner in your dictionary. 
How do you know they will be found there? 

11. Copy the following words* 

Saturday; Wednesday; Massachusetts; drowned; 
alphabetical. 

Say each word slowly to yourself, and decide 
how many syllables there are in it. Write 
the figure which indicates the number of 
syllables under each word. 

12. The two words at the top of a page in your 

dictionary are the words kindliness and knight- 
hood. 
Where else on this page will each of these words 
be found? 

Not more than ten questions to be given* f Preferably 
but five at a time. 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 



SIXTH GRADE 

1. Write the letters of the alphabet in their order. 

(Both capitals and small letters) 

2. Write five words, each illustrating a different 

sound of a, 
Mark the a in each word. 

3. Copy the following words, leaving spaces be- 

tween the syllables: 

(If any word consists of one syllable only, 
underline it.) 



baseball 


telephone 


attacked 


idea 


sitting 


drowned 


tongue 


vowel 


sleepy 


brightness 



Mark the accented syllables in the following 
words : 



ac count 


in ter fere 


pleas ant 


con ver sa tion 


de ter mine 


nee es sa ry 


nev er 


de ny 


ac ci dent 


trust wor thy 



70 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

5. When a word has two accents, what is the 

strong one called? The weak one? 
Mark the accents in the word hor i zon tal. 

6. What common word is the same as the long 

sound of t^? 
Write two words containing long u, and mark 
the u in each. 

7. The catchwords on a page in your dictionary 

are j)atty and pebbly. 
Name five words that must be on this page. 

(Write no compound words.) 
How do you know these words will be on this 

page? 

8. Use the following words correctly in short 

sentences : 

hear, here their, there 

to, two, too pare, pear, pair 

(One sentence for each word.) 

9. Arrange in alphabetical order: 

sapphire sand 

sack salad 

sage saddle 

sandpiper savage 

Sabbath sash 

safety sawdust 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 71 

sample Saxon 

sardine saucer 

say satin 

sailor sake 

10. How is the plural of words ending in y formed? 

Give illustrations. 
Is the y in proper names changed to form the 
plural? Give the plural form of Henry. 

11. Where in the large dictionary would you look 

for information concerning Mount Shasta? 
For information about Thomas A. Edison? 

12. Should any of the following words be divided 

in writing? If so, which ones? If none, why? 

apron heavy 



13. 



unite 




ocean 


adrift 




mighty 


item 




idea 


ivy 




awake 


!ark the vowel 


in the accented syllable in each 


of the following words: 




liberty 




trifle 


army 




defend 


costly 




careful 


attack 




grass 


story 




fernery 



72 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

14 Name a word ending in ed in which the ed 
forms a separate syllable. 
Name one in which the ed does not form a 
separate syllable. 

15. Divide the following words into their proper 
syllables: 

attended attacked 

interfered misspelled 

drowned satisfied 

contented stirred 

walked permitted 

Not more than ten questions to he given. 

SEVENTH GRADE 

1. Write a word in which 2/ is a vowel; under it, 

a word in which y is sl consonant. 

2. What is a union of two vowel sounds in one 

syllable called? Illustrate by a word. 

3. What is a word of one syllable called? Of two 

syllables? Of three syllables? Of more than 
three syllables? 
What does each of these prefixes mean? 

4. What class of words cannot be divided in writing? 
Name five words, of at least six letters each, 

belonging to this class. 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 73 

5. Copy the following words, leaving spaces be- 

tween the syllables, and marking the ac- 
cented syllables : 

farmyard attacked 

beginning drowned 

anxiously example 

Wednesday quickened 

parent aeroplane 

6. Mark both primary and secondary accent in the 

following words: 

Mas sa chu setts ap pend i ci tis 

auc tion eer bro ken-heart ed 

al pha bet ic al 

Note: Say each word slowly to yourself several times before 
marking accents. 

7. Write five words, each containing the long 

sound of u. 
Can you pronounce these words correctly? 

8. Write five sentences, using one of the following 

words appropriately in each: wonderful, real, 
awful, great, got. 

9. (a) Write a word formed with a prefix. 

UnderHne the prefix and tell what it means. 

(b) Write a word formed with a suffix. 

Underline the suffix and tell what it means. 



74 DICTIONARY OUTLINES 

10. On the divided page of the unabridged dic- 

tionary, would you look above or below the 
dividing line 

(a) For the meaning of a French or Latin phrase? 

(b) For the meaning of your Christian name? 

(c) For information about some noted person? 

(d) For the meaning of an obsolete word? 

(e) For geographical and biographical informa- 

tion? 

11. What is a synonym? Copy the following 

words, writing one synonym after each word. 

reply happy 

story conceal 

fault thrifty 

choose pluck 

completely pleasure 

12. The page headings on a page in my dictionary 

are crah and crane. 
Name five other words on this same page. 

13. Will the abiUty to find a given word quickly in 

your dictionary help you in other ways? 
Tell in what ways, if any. 

14. (a) Explain the difference between a definition 

and a synonym. 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 75 

(b) Define the word '^fearless.'' Give a syn- 
onym for it. 

15. Change the word hope by means of a suffix, and 
define the word made. 
Change the word true by means of a prefix, and 
define the word made. 

Not more than ten questions to he given. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Teachers of all grades will find the books noted below 
of especial interest and value in connection with the 
subject of dictionary study. 

Manual of Good English 

By H. N. MacCracken, President of Vassar College 

and 
Helen E. Sandison, Instructor in English, Vassar 
College 

Chapter One. Words 
Chapter Six. Spelling 

The Standard of Pronunciation in English 

By Thomas R. Lounsbury 
Late Professor of English, Yale University 

The Making of English By Henry Bradley 

One of the Editors of the Oxford Enghsh Dictionary 

The Growth of English By Henry Cecil Wyld 

Baines Professor of English Language and Philology? 
University of Liverpool 

English Usage By J. Lesslie Hall 

Professor of English Language and Literature, Col- 
lege of WiUiam and Mary 
76 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 77 

English Synonyms and Antonyms By James C Fernald 
Editor of the Standard Dictionary 

Self-CuUivation in English By George Herbert Palmer 
Alford Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, Harvard 
University 

The Art of Writing English By J. M. D. Meiklejohn 

Late Professor of Education, University of St. An- 
drews 

Chapter Eight. Precision in the Use of Synonyms 
Chapter Twenty-one. Some Common Errors in English 
and in Grammar 

Every-Day Words and Their Uses By Robert Palfrey Utter 
Associate Professor of English, Amherst College 



